russian culture training

8/7/2019 Russian Culture Training

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CULTURAL AWARENESS TRAININGIntroduction to Russia


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Factsand Statistics

Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth'sarea. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 142 million people. It extendsacross the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 9 time zones andincorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world'slargest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It has the world's largest forestreserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's freshwater

Location: Northern Asia, bordering Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km,Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania

(Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km


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Factsand Statistics

Capital: Moscow

Population: 143,782,338 (July 2004 est.)

Ethnic Make-up:

Russians 79.8%, Tatars 3.8%, Ukrainians 2%,

Bashkir's 1.2%, Chuvash's 1.1%, Chechens

0.9%, Armenians 0.8%, other 10.4%

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other


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Factsand Statistics

The Russian Language

Of Russia's estimated 150m population, it is thought that over 81% speak the official language of

Russian as their first and only language. Most speakers of a minority language are also bilingual

speakers ofRussian. There are over 100 minority languages spoken in Russia today, the most popular

of which is Tartar, spoken by more than 3% of the country's population. Other minority languages

include Ukrainian, Chuvash, Bashir, Mordvin and Chechen. Although few of these populations make up

even 1% of the Russian population, these languages are prominent in key regional areas.


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Factsand Statistics

Climate

Climate ranges from steppes in the south, through humid

continental in much of European Russia

Subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north.

Winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia.

Summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast


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Factsand StatisticsClimate

Mountains in the south obstruct the flow of warm air masses from

the Indian Ocean, while the plain of the west and north makes the

country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences.

Most of Northern European Russia and Siberia has a subarctic

climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of

Northeast Siberia (mostly the Sakha Republic, where the Northern

Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of

68 C/90.4 F).

The strip of land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the

Russian Arctic islands, have a polar climate.

The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably

in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet

winters


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Culture differences

Concept of time

Meetings and negotiations are slow.

Russians do not like being rushed

Russia is a moderate time culture and

traditionally schedules and deadlines are viewedas flexible. However, the expectations of

intercultural and global expansion have caused

the Russians to adopt relatively strict standards

of adhering to schedules.

When working with people from Russia, its

advisable to reinforce the importance of the agreed-

upon deadlines and how that may affect the rest of

the organization. Successful cross cultural

management will depend on the individuals ability to

meet deadlines. Russians often use time as a tactic,

especially if they know that you have a deadline.


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Culture differences

Work ethics

It is a good idea to include technical experts on your negotiating team.

Russian executives prefer to meet with people of similar rank and position.

Russians see negotiations as win-lose. They do not believe in win-win scenarios.

Russians view compromise as weakness. They will continue negotiating until you offer

concessions.

Expect a long period of socializing and getting-to-know-you conversation before business is

discussed.

Nothing is final until the contract is signed. Even then, Russians will modify a contract to suittheir purposes.

Do not use high-pressure tactics as they will work against you.


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Culture differences

Relationships Although Russians value firmness and dignity, it is advisable to appear

approachable and friendly as well

Most Russians do not trust people who are 'all business . Russians may losetheir temper, walk out of the meeting, or threaten to terminate therelationship in an attempt to coerce you to change your position.

Meeting EtiquetteThe typical greeting is a firm, almost bone-crushing

handshake while maintaining direct eye contact andgiving the appropriate greeting for the time of day.

When men shake hands with women, the handshake is less firm.When female friends meet, they kiss on the cheek three times, starting with theleft and then alternating.

When close male friends meet, they may pat each other on the back and hug


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Culture differences

Gender Differences Russian men are more likely to exhibit an

internal locus of control and need for

challenge, while women are more likely toexhibit an external locus of control and need

for affiliation.

Age Differences Russians generally value and respect age, rank

and position as well as status and technicalexpertise specially when it comes to business.

The most senior person reaches decisions.


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A Closer Look to the country

General structure

Brief History By the 18th century, the nation had greatly

expanded through conquest, annexation, andexploration to become the Russian Empire,

which was the third largest empire in history,stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in

North America.

Russia established worldwide power andinfluence from the times of the Russian Empire

to being the largest and leading constituent ofthe Soviet Union, the world's firstconstitutionally socialist state and a recognizedsuperpower, that played a decisive role in the

victory inWorldWar II


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from a citizens prospective


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from a citizens prospective

Russian Family The Russian family is dependent upon all its

members.

Most families live in small apartments, oftenwith 2 or 3 generations sharing little space.Most families are small, often with only onechild because most women must also work

outside of the house in addition to bearingsole responsibility for household and

childrearing chores.

Russian Pride

Russians are proud of their country.

Patriotic songs and poems extol the

virtues of their homeland.

They accept that their lives are difficult

and pride themselves on being able to

flourish in conditions that others could

not.

They take great pride in their cultural

heritage and expect the rest of the

world to admire it.


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Naming Conventions

Russian names are comprised of:First name, which is the person's given name.

Middle name, which is a patronymic or a version of the father's firstname formed by adding '- vich' or '-ovich' for a male and '-avna' or '-ovna' for a female. The son of Ivan would have a patronymic ofIvanovich while the daughter's patronymic would be Ivanovna.

Last name, which is the family or surname. In formal situations,people use all three names. Friends and close acquaintances may

refer to each other by their first name and patronymic. Close friendsand family members call each other by their first name only.


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Gift Giving Etiquette

Gift giving using takes place between family and close friends onbirthdays,New Year, and Orthodox Christmas.

If you are invited to a Russian home for a meal, bring a small gift.Male guests are expected to bring flowers.

Do not give yellow flowers.

Do not give a baby gift until after the baby is born. It is bad luck to do

so sooner.

Russians often protest when they are offered a gift. Reply that it is alittle something and offer the gift again and it will generally beaccepted.


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Dining Etiquette

If you are invited to a Russian's house:

Arrive on time or no more than 15 minutes later than invited.

Remove your outdoor shoes. You may be given slippers to wear.

Dress in clothes you might wear to the office. Dressing well shows respect

for your hosts.

Expect to be treated with honour and respect.Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or clearing up after a meal is served. This may be

turned down out of politeness. Asking 'are you sure?' allows the hostess to accept your offer.


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Tablemanners

Table manners are generally casual and continental.

The oldest or most honored guest is served first.

You will often be urged to take second helpings.

Men pour drinks for women seated next to them.Leaving a small amount of food on your plate indicates that your hosts have

provided ample hospitality.

Do not get up until you are invited to leave the table. At formal dinners, the

guest of honor is the first to get up from the table.


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Moscow


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Moscow


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Moscow


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Moscow


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Moscow


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Moscows Metro


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Thank you.

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